Automatic strand winding machine



Dec. '20, 1955 R. B. BILANE ET AL Filed May 17, 1952 AUTOMATIC STRAND WINDING MACHINE 19 Sheets-SheefI l lll. A '70 70 Ik 70 -L ,/qrfr ."I' *d'5 Af" Dec. 20, 1955 R. B. BILANE ET AL 2,727,699

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AUTOMATIC STRAND WINDING MACHINE Filed May 17, 1952 19 Sheets-Shee'fI 9 Dec. 20, 1955 R. B. BILANE ET AL 2,727,699

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AUTOMATIC STRAND WINDING MACHINE l Filed May 17, 1952 19 Sheets-Sheet 12 Dec. 20, 1955 R. B. BILANE ET AL AUTOMATIC STRAND WINDING MACHINE 19 Sheets-Sheet 13 Filed May 1'?, 1952 Dec. 20, 1955 R. B. BILANE r-:T Al.

AUTOMATIC STRAND wTNDING MACHINE 19 Sheets-Sheet 14 Filed May l?, 1952 Dec. 20, 1955 R. B. BILANE ET A1. 2,727,699

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AUTOMATIC STRAND wINDING MACHINE Dec. 20, 1955 R. B. BILANE ET Al. 2,727,699

AUTOMATIC STRAND WINDING MACHINE Filed May 1'?, 1952 19 Sheets-Sheet 18 Dec. 20, 1955 R. B. BILANE ET AL AUTOMATIC STRAND WINDING MACHINE 19 Sheets-Sheet 19 Filed May 17, 1952 United States Patent O AUTOMATIC STRAND WWDENG MACHINE Roland B. Bilane, West Keansburg, Gerald I. Barry, Old Bridge, and Robert l. Schaefer, Chatham, N. signers to Ethieon, Inc., a corporation or New .lersey Application May 17, 1952, Serial No. 289,222

25 Claims. (Cl. 242-50) This invention relates to a machine for automatically transferring flexible strands, one at a time, from a bundle of such strands, winding the strand on a reel, severed from a strip of reel stock, cutting the strand to predetermined length and inserting the reel with the strand wound thereon into a tube. The invention has particular utility for Winding and tubing surgical sutures and is described in that connection.

According to the invention, a bundle of sutures of approximately desired length are arranged in a trough which terminates in a hopper adapted to receive the leading end portions thereof. The hopper has a suture supporting member and an overlying cover plate spaced apart a distance sumcient to accommodate one course only f the sutures. A back plates serves as an abutment to locate the leading ends of the sutures all in a predetermined position. The portions of the sutures in the hopper are moved sideways toward the outlet end thereof and then transferred one at a time to each of a series of clamping devices associated one with each of a plurality of winding frames equally spaced about a revolving turret for rotation past the hopper.

Each suture after the winding frame picks it up and proceeds on its way is fed by inward radial movement of the clamping device between a pair of feed rollers which in turn move it along to a position adjacent a winding head which in the meantime has been supplied with a reel having a pair of tabs formed therein and so disposed on the head that rotation thereof winds the suture on the reel and about the tabs. The reel is automatically cut olf from a strip of reel stock, formed with tabs on which the suture is to be wound, and inserted at the appropriate time in the winding head.

Continued rotation of the turret winds the suture upon the reel in its respective winding frame until a predetermined point is reached in the machine cycle where mechanism is rendered active to cut off so much of the suture as will not have been fully wound up on the reel when the mechanism which elects winding has completed its cycle of operation.

After the suture is cut to length, winding thereof on the reel is completed, whereupon the reel with suture thereon is discharged from the winding head and the ensemble moved endwise into a tube of standard form which at one point in the machine cycle is fed into proper position to receive the wound up suture.

The operations of the machine are, in general, cam controlled, the cams for the most part being horizontally disposed on a fixed central shroud concentric with the axis of rotation of the turret which supports the various winding frames.

A better understanding of the machine may be had by referirng to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan of a machine equipped with the present improvements and which has its top plate partially broken away to expose underlying parts;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

iatented Dec. 20, 12955 ICG Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmental vertical section showing the manner in which the turret is supported for rotation;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmental vertical section showing the manner in which the turret plates are connected together;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged top plan of the suture feeding hopper;

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the suture feeding hopper looking in the direction of line 7 7 in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmental elevation of part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 7, partially broken away to show detail;

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section on line 9 9 of Fig. 7, some parts being broken away to show detail;

Fig. 10 is a vertical section on line 10 10 of Fig. 9;

Fig. ll is a vertical section on line 11-11 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 12 is a fragmental perspective view of a portion of the suture supporting rail and showing detail of the air passageway;

Fig. 13 is an inverted plan of the suture feeding hopper shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 14 is a vertical section on line 14-14 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 15 is a vertical section on lines 15 15 of Figs. 6 and 7;

Fig. 16 is a vertical section on line 16-16 of Fig. 17;

Fig. 16A is a horizontal section on line 16a-16a of Fig. 16;

Fig. 17 is a front elevation of a suture winding unit with the front plate partially broken away to show parts at the rear thereof;

Fig. 17a is an enlarged fragmental section on lineA 17a 17a of Fig. 16;

Fig. 17b is a horizontal section on line 17b 17b of Fig. 17a;

Fig. 18 is a vertical section on line 18-18 of Fig. 25;

Fig. 19 is a vertical section on line 19-19 of Fig. 18;

Fig. 20 is an elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 19 looking in the direction of line 20-20;

Fig. 21 is a plan view of the supporting bracket shown in Fig. 20;

Fig. 22 is an elevation of the suture guide and cut oif device looking at the parts in the direction of line 22,-22 of Fig.

Fig. 23 is a vertical section on line 23 23 of Fig. 25;

Fig. 24 is a vertical section on line 24 24 of Fig. 25;

Fig. 25 is a vertical section on line 25-25 of Fig. 22 but with the suture clamping device shown in elevation;

Fig. 26 is a side elevation of the suture winding head and the reel tab forming mechanism looking at the parts from the left of the suture winding frame, the parts being shown in their normal positions;

Fig. 27 is a detailed elevation of the suture winding head;

Fig. 28 is a view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 26 but with the parts in the position in which the reel is inserted in the winding head;

Fig. 29 is a horizontal section on line 29 29 of Fig. 28;

Fig. 30 is a transverse section through the suture infeed rolls and through the train of connections which operate them, the parts being shown in their operative positions and the lower portion being taken on line 3ft-3i) of Fig. 31;

Fig. 31 is a right end elevation of the parts shown at the bottom of Fig. 30;

Fig. 32 is a vertical section on line 32-32 of Fig. 3l;

Fig. 33 is a fragmental fore and aft vertical section on an enlarged scale through the suture infeed rollers, the parts being shown in their operative or suture infeed position;

Fig. 34 is a top plan of the reel stock feeding tab 

